So far in this series we’ve learned:
- Being Born again isn't optional to see the kingdom of God
- You have a story to tell
But the thing about having a story to tell is, just because you have a story worth telling, doesn’t mean you’re actually gonna tell it. Right?
Every believer has a story to tell. If you don’t think you do take some time and examine your life. What has God done in your life? How have you changed since coming to know Jesus?
We shouldn’t be the same as we were. So what's changed? And that's your story.
And if you're still having a hard time finding a story we have the Gospel! That's our number one story anyways. Isaiah 55:11 says that God’s word always produces fruit. It will accomplish all God wants it to, and it will prosper everywhere he sends it.
That's not a promise for our testimony, God will obviously use our testimony but this promise it is a promise for the gospel. For the word.
So what’s the difference?
What’s the difference between the type of person who leads people to Jesus by the tens… by the hundreds… maybe by the thousands or tens of thousands even. The type of person to walk up to a stranger in the street and lead them to Jesus. The person who is powerfully used by God, that is clearly living out God’s will for their life proclaiming the gospel…
And for many of us, ourselves?
We look up to these people, see them as our spiritual leaders. We think “I could never be like them. I can never do what they do.” Or maybe we don't necessarily think we can’t do what they do, we just have no idea how we get to that point from where we’re at.
So what’s the difference between those who are powerfully used by God and those of us that wish we were? There are 2 differences.
Continually Renewing the Soul
The first difference were going to learn about comes from Romans 12:2 (NIV)
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is what we're going to break down.
Because the first difference is this: People who are consistently being used powerfully by God, who are living out God’s will and proclaiming the Gospel are continually renewing their souls.
People who are consistently being used powerfully by God, who are living out God’s will and proclaiming the Gospel are continually renewing their souls.
Dying to Self Daily
Now the second difference comes from Luke 9:23-25 (NLT)
23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?
This is Jesus speaking here and he tells those seeking to follow him, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”
When Jesus spoke this he was speaking to a 1st century, Roman/Jewish crowd. They had no preconceived notions of mercy, beauty and sacrifice when speaking about a cross like many of us do today.
There was nothing good or pleasing in the imagery of a cross, it was a device used for capital punishment.
For us today, think of the electric chair, but instead of it killing you in a matter of seconds, think of an electric chair that has the ability to electrocute you throughout an entire day, all the while you’re still conscious until you finally succumb hours later.
Horrific
Now with that imagery in your mind imagine me telling you in order for you to follow me you must submit yourself to that chair every single day.
how you feel about that is probably not far off from those listening to Jesus here.
The torture, severe suffering and death conveyed with that statement. And to have to endure that every single day or else we can’t follow him?
Say you’d want to follow Jesus anyways, how would you suffer and die every single day? You only got one life.
Obviously if any of this is meant literally not all of it can be taken that way!
So what are you saying Jesus? How are we to follow you? How can anyone follow you?
Well let's look at more of the surrounding details of his statement:
you must give up your own way
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
What Jesus is talking about here is our corrupted bodies! Not necessarily in a literal sense, but our sinful flesh, that desires this, and desires that. That craves the things of the world.
What Jesus is saying here is that in order to follow him, every single day we have to wake up, pick up our cross and crucify our fleshly desires.
Wake up and decide, today will not be about myself, today will be about you Jesus. Whatever my plans are, whatever I want to do today… no, my day is yours. Lead me, let your will be done in and through me.
Galatians 2:20 says: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
There is a phrase that christians often use to summarize this idea.
Die to yourself. And Jesus tells us to do this daily.
The first difference involves our soul. We must continually renew it.
The second difference involves our body.
People who are consistently being used powerfully by God, who are living out God’s will and proclaiming the Gospel are intentionally choosing to die to themselves every day.